Packing case or crate for clocks



R. J. LEIGHTON PACKING CASE OR CRATE FOR CLOCKS Filed Jan. 10 1924 Patented Dec. 2, 1924.

ROBERT J'. LEIGH'ION, OF WINS'IEI), CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB TO WM. L. GILBERT CLOCK COMPANY, OF WINSTED, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

PACKING CASE OR CRATE FOR CLOCKS.

Application filed January 10, 1924. Seriafl No. 685,302.

To all whom 2'25 may concern Be it known that 1, ROBERT J. LEIGI-ITON, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVinsted, county of Litchfield, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packing Cases or Crates for Clocks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

It has been customary heretofore in packing clocks for transportation purposes to wrap the clocks in paper before placing them in the packing box, and to place a considerable amount of padding between the wrapped clock and the sides of the box. Such packing of the clocks, however, has been found to be objectionable for the reason that the padding is liable to. force the paper against the polished varnished surface of the clock which, particularly in hot moist weather, frequently results in marring the surface. Moreover, the padding is liable to become packed into a very small space and thus allow the clock to chafe around inside of the box in such a way as to scratch and mar the surface of the clock.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a packing case or crate for a clock in which the clock is securely and firmly held without danger of its surface being marred or scratched, or the clock otherwise injured.

The following is a description of my invention reference being had to the accom' panying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of apacking case or crate for a single clock comprising a packing box and supplemental crate and embodying the features of the invention in their preferred form, the cover of the packing box being partly broken away and the block being indicated by broken lines;

Fig. 2 is a similar viewibut showing with the cover removed a packing case or crate embodying my invention which is particularly adapted for packing four clocks;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 with the cover in place; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view in perspective of a crate for supporting a single clock within the packing box.

In accordance with my invention, before crating a clock in its packing box it is placed in a supplemental wooden frame-like crate which is illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This supplemental crate is provided with a base that is made up of a longitudinally extending piece 2 and a cross piece 4 that are secured together midway of their ends by a dove-tail joint 6 so as to position their top and bottom sides flush, the two pieces being glued at the dove-tail joint. Upright pieces 8 have their lower ends secured to the ends of the cross piece 4 and atop piece 10 connects the upper ends of the upright pieces. The upright pieces 8, the cross piece 4, and the top piece 10 may be secured together by nai'ls, or any other suitable means. A cushioning member 12 of cork, coated with parafin, is centrally secured to the under side, of the top piece 10, and to the inner side of each of the upright pieces 8 at a point spaced a distance from the top piece, the cushioning members 12 being securely held in sockets in the top piece and upright pieces. The outer ends of the cushioning members 12 are rounded over.

Each clock to be packed is inserted in a supplemental crate of the construction above described with its base 14 resting upon the base pieces 2 and 4 of the crate, the top of the clock being engaged by the cushioning member 12 on the top piece 10, and the front and rear sides of the clock at points slightly above the door 16'thereof being engaged by the cushioning members on the upright pieces 8. The clock is firmly but detachablv secured in the crate by two screws 1.8 screwed through the base piece 2 and into the under side of the base of the clock near the ends thereof. A wad 20 of paper, or similar cushioning member, is placed between the door of the clock and the front upright piece 8 so as to securely hold the door closed.

In packing a single clock the clock with its crate is placed in arectangular box 22, Fig. 1, with the rear upright'piece 8 of the crate resting upon the bottom of'the box, the box being of suitable size so that the ends of the base piece 2 closely fit or abut the'ends of the box, the top and bottom of the crate closely fit the sides of the box, and the outer side of the front upright 8 is substantially fiush'with the top of the interior of the box. lVhen the clock in the supplemental crate is thus placed in the packing box, staples 24 are centrally driven into the upper edges of the longitudinal sides of the box and the supplemental crate and a cover 26 for the top box may then be nailed on to complete the crating of the clock. If desired, the box may be reinforced by suitably arranged braces 28.

It will be apparent that when the clock is thus packed it is firmly held in its supplemental crate, and the polished varnished surface of the clock which is engaged only by the cushioning members 12 is well protected from becoming scratched or otherwise injured; and also as the supplemental crate is firmly held in the packing box, the clock is well protected from injury caused by rough handling of the packing case. To remove the clock with its supplemental crate from the packing box, it is merely necessary to remove the cover of the box and then the staples 24k to enable the clock and supple-- mental crate to be lifted out, and the clock may be slipped out of the supplemental crate upon removing the screws 18.

In packing four clocks, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 8, a square box 30 is provided which is of suitable size to enable the clocks with their supplemental crates to be placed back down on the bottom of the box with the base pieces 2 and at of the crates laid against the sides of the box, and the top pieces 10 of the supplemental crates engaging the four sides, respectively, of a square post 32 which is centrally placed upright upon the bottom of the box. When the clocks with their supplemental crates are thus placed in the box, the upper or inner ends of the supplemental crates are secured by staples 34 to the upper end of the post 32 so as to secure all of the supplemental crates firmly together. The base pieces 2 of twoof the supplemental crates are of suitable length so as to closely fit between two opposite sides of the box, and the base pieces 2 of the other two supplemental crates are of suitable length so as to closely fit between the ends of the first two mentioned base pieces. The cover 36 of the box may then be nailed on. It will be apparent that with this construction the clocks are packed in the minimum amount of. space and are firmly held and well protected. from injury by rough handling of the packing case.

If desired, sheets of paper 38 may be laid over the supplemental crates and clocks before nailing on the cover, and also between the base of the clocks and the adjacent side wall of the packing box.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits of various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A packing case for clocks comprising a supplemental crate for receiving a clock having a base upon which the base of the clock rests made up of a longitudinally extending piece and a cross piece centrally secured together, upright pieces having their lower ends secured to the ends of said cross piece and extending over and spaced from the front and back of the clock, a top piece connecting the upper ends of said upright pieces and spaced from the top of the clock, cushioning members on said upright pieces for engaging the front and rear sides of the clock, respectively, near its upper end, and a cushioning member on said top piece for engaging the top of the clock.

2. A packing case for clocks comprising a supplemental crate for receiving a clock having a base upon which the base of the clock rests, upright pieces having their lower end secured to said base and extending over and spaced from the back and front of the clock, a top piece connecting the upper ends of said upright pieces and spaced from the top of the clock, cushioning members on said uprights for engagement with the back and front, respectively, of the clock near its upper end, and a cushioning member onsaid top piece for engagement with the top of the clock,

3. A packing case for a plurality of clocks comprising a supplemental crate for each of the clocks having a base on which the base of the clock rests and is removably secured, upright pieces having their lower ends secured to said base and extending over the front and back of the clock, and a top piece extending over the top of the clock and connecting the upper ends of said uprights, a packing box in which the crated clocks are placed with the backs of the clocks and supplemental crates resting upon the bottom of the box and with the base of the supplemental crates laid against the sides of the box, respectively, and means for securing the upper ends of said supplemental crates together.

4. A packing case for a plurality of clocks comprising a supplemental crate for each of the clocks having a base on which the base of the clock rests and is removably secured, upright pieces having their lower ends secured. to said base and extending over the front and back of the clock, and a top piece extending over the top of the clock and connecting the upper ends of said uprights, a packing box in which the crated clocks are placed with the backs of the clocks and supplemental crates resting upon the bottom of the box and with the base of the crates laid against the sides of the box, respectively, a member inserted between the top pieces of saidsupplemental crates, and staples driven into the upper end of said member and into said supplemental crates for securing said supplemental crates together.

A packing case for a plurality of clocks comprising a supplemental crate for each of the clocks having a base upon which the clock rests and to which it is removably secured made up of a longitudinally extending piece and a cross piece centrally secured to llU gether, upright pieces having their lower ends secured to the ends of said cross piece and extending over and spaced from the back and front of the clock, respectively, a top piece connecting the upper ends of said upright pieces and extending over and spaced from the top of the clock, cushioning members on said upright pieces for engaging the front and rear sides of the clock, respectively, near its upper end, a cushioning member on said top piece for engaging the top of the clock, a packing box in which the crated clocks are placed With the backs of the clocks and supplemental crates resting upon the bottom of the box and With the base of the supplemental crates laid against the sides of the box, respectively, a member inserted between the ends of the top pieces of the supplemental crates When the cratcd clocks are thus placed in the box, and means for detachably securing said member to the upper end of each of said supplemental crates.

ROBERT J. LEIGHTON. 

